Joint-lever



(No Model.)

W. B. HALL.

JOINT LEVER.

No. 298,749.- Patented May 20,1884.

.1 i a w a J pher, wmin m o. c

TE ST Parent @rrrcm XVILLIAM BUTLER HALL, OF DUQUOIN, ILLINOIS.

JOINT-LEVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 298,748, dated May 20,1884.

Application filed April 7, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. IIALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Duquoin, in the county of Perry and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in J oint-Levers and I dohereby declare the following to beafull, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of joint orlatch levers in which asupplemental operat' ing-lever is pivoted upon the main lever, and isadapted to operate upon the pawls to disengage them from the segmentalrack.

The object of my-invention is to provide a simple and improved joint orlatch lever for operating brakes or other mechanism, which will possessadvantages in {point of strength and general efficiency, and which canbe readily and conveniently operated by a comparatively smallexpenditure of power.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved lever,parts being broken away to show the construction, and the operationbeing illustrated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 4 is adetail perspective view of the doublearm spring which actuates thepawls.

Corresponding parts in the figures are denoted by the same letters ofreference.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the main lever, to which the rodB (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1) is pivotallyconnected. This main leveris fulcrumed at its-lower end, a, and it extends vertically at the sideof the segmental rack O, and projects above the latter. The teeth 0 ofthe rack G are formed in a continuous series on the top edge of therack, and are preferably of rectangular form.

D D designate two pawls, which are in the form of bell-crank levers, andare fulcrumed, as shown at d d, to the face of the lever A just abovethe teeth of the rack. The main arms D of the pawls project laterally atopposite sides of the lever A, and are provided at their outer ends witha finger or point, d,which engages with the teeth 0 of the rack, asshown. The outer face of the fingers d is straight or abrupt, andengages with the corresponding face of the teeth c,t0 prevent movementof the lever A in either direction, while the inner face of the saidfingers is beveled, as shown at (1 so that it will pass over the teethof the rack when thepawl is carried in that direction. The inner arms, Dof the pawls project upwardly, and are acted upon by the correspondingarms, 6 c, of a double-arm spring, E, to force the fin gers of the pawlsnormally into engagement with the teeth ofthe rack. This double-armspring E, which is clearly shown in Fig. 4, is preferably formed of asingle piece of springplate, bent to form a central eye or loop, 6, fromwhich the arms 6 e extend divergently and upwardly. The spring issecured in position by a centrally-disposed pin or screw, F,which passesthrough the eye 6' and enters the lever A. Above this pin F is providedastop-pin, G, whichis disposed onthe same central plane, and is arrangedabove the pawls. This stoppin acts as a stop to the auxiliary oroperating lever H, as will be presently described.

The operating lever H is fulcrumed, as shown at it, upon the top end ofthe main lever A, and is provided with a recess, H, inits lower end toreceive the stop-pin Gr.v Thus, when the lever is turned upon itsfulcrum, either side of this recess engages the said pin and locks thelever H from further movement upon the lever A,when the levers becomerelatively rigid and move together. At each side of the central recess,H, the operating-lever is provided with a downwardly-projecting andbeveled end, it, which engages with the corre sponding top end of theinner arm, D of the adjoining pawl, so that when the operatinglever isforced in either direction its arm acts upon the pawl against thetension of the spring, and disengages the same from the rack, to enablethe main lever to be movedto operatethe brake. Then, when theoperating-lever is released, the spring forces the pawls intore-engagement with the teeth of the rack, to automatically lock the mainlever in the position to which it has thus been adjusted.

A covering-plate, I, is provided over the pawls, spring, and otheroperating mechanism, and is secured in position by the pivot of the mainlever and by a pin, J, arranged at its lower end and entering the leverA. The fulcrum-pins of the pawls and the pins F and G IOO alsopreferably pass through this coveringplate.

From the foregoing description and annegzed drawings the operation andadvantages of my invention will be readily understood. My improved leveris simple in construction, and operates easily and readily by simplyforcing the operating-lever in either direction.

I claim as my invention 1. As an improvement in joint-levers, thecombination, with the double-arm pawls projecting in oppositedirections, of an operating lever having arms projecting over the innerarms of the pawls and bearing against the outerface of the same, asshown, whereby the arms of the lever are adapted to independentlyoperate either pawl, substantially as and fonthe purpose set forth.

2. As an improvement in joint-levers, the combination of the main levercarrying two oppositely projecting pawls, the segmental rack, springmechanism secured upon the le- "Ver and acting upon the pawls, and anopermain lever carrying the bell-crank pawls having their engaging endsprojecting in opposite directions, and a double-arm spring disposedbetween the inner arms of the pawls and acting upon the same,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. As an improvement in joint-levers, the combination of the main lever,the segmental rack, two bell-crank pawls fulcrumed upon the main leverabove the rack, and having their engaging arms projecting in oppositedirections, the double-arm spring actingupon the pawls, theoperating-lever fulcrumed upon the main lever, and provided with an armprojecting at each side and engagingtheinner arms of the pawls, and acentrally-disposed stop-pin to limit the movement of the operating-leverin either direction, substantially as set forth.

5. As an improvement in joint-levers, the

combination of the main lever, the segmental rack, the bell-crank pawlshaving their main arms projecting laterally in opposite directions, andprovided with the beveled inner faces, the centrally disposed double armspring acting upon the inner arms of both pawls, the centrally disposedstop -pin arranged above the spring, and the operatinglever fulcrumedupon the main lever, having the central recess in its bottom, and thedownwardly-projecting arms at each side of this recess, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.-

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM BUTLER HALL. Witnesses:

THos. H. Boneless, H. M. HARRISS.

